Automatic strip inserter

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for binding a stack of sheets whereby a binding member including a substrate material having at least one strip of heat activated adhesive is employed to form the desired book-like assembly. The apparatus is characterized by the provision of mechanism for automatically inserting binding members of the required length into the binding apparatus. The mechanism comprises means for feeding strip material from a cartridge containing strip material sufficient to provide a number of binding members and further comprises means for cutting the strip material when the desired length of the strip material has been removed from the cartridge.

United States Patent [1 1 Kuhns Sept. 2, 1975 [54] AUTOMATIC STRIPINSERTER 3,695,133 10/1972 Finke 83/241 3,8 4, 94 4 1974 B1 1 6 477 B[75] Inventor: Richard J. Kuhns, Barrington, Ill. 0 6 5 [73] Assignee:Xerox Corporation, Stamford, Primary Examiner-Richard A. Schacher Conn.

[22] Filed: Aug. 29, 1973 [57] ABSTRACT App]. No.: 392,583

Apparatus for binding a stack of sheets whereby a binding memberincluding a substrate material having at least one strip of heatactivated adhesive is employed to form the desired book-like assembly.The apparatus is characterized by the provision of mechanism forautomatically inserting binding members of the required length into thebinding apparatus. The mechanism comprises means for feeding stripmaterial from a cartridge containing strip material sufficient toprovide a number of binding members and further comprises means forcutting the strip material when the desired length of the strip materialhas been removed from the cartridge.

5 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTED '2 i975 SHEET 1 1 1 PATENMTI 2i9753.902.646

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PATENTEU 35? 2 m5 3. 902 646 snmuqgg 1 AUTOMATIC. STRIP INSERTERBACKGROUND oF THE) INVENTION This invention relates generally tosheetbinding, and more particularly, to .apparatus for binding aplurality of sheets together in a. stack to form a book orbooklikeassembly. More particularly, this invention relates to apparatus havingmechanism for automatically metering the desired length of bindingstripmaterial from a cartridge and automatically inserting the bindingmember into the binding apparatus subsequentto cutting of the bindingmember from the binding strip material. 1 r v .In the business office,it is often desirable to secure a plurality of sheets ofa report, bookorthelike together in a bound assembly. While numerous arrangements forbinding or assembling-sheets together are available, each with certaininherent advantages of its own, many of these known arrangements at'thesame time suffer certain disadvantages such ashigh'cost, low productionrate, or the need for relatively complex applicator machinery, ortheinability to edit or otherwise effect changesin a bound assembly oncethe binding operation has been completed.

Perhaps the most common and therefore, the most familiar method forassembling pages together is stapling. A staple generally comprises ametallic U-shaped member which is generally formed from drawn wire. Thestaples are driven'under pressure through a stack of sheets and thenbentor clinched on the underside of the stack to form the permanentassembly. Various mechanical arrangements have heretofore been devisedfor forming staples into the characteristic U-shaped configuration aswell as specific arrangements for inserting and removing the wirestaples from the stack. Although the stapling process is employed quiteextensively, there are certain disadvantages which are encountered withthe aforementioned assembling method.

For example, the total number of pages that may be stapled together islimited,. moreover the ,resulting product may not have the desiredpermanency or integrity since the staples may become unhinged orwithsustained use of the book or pamphlet, pages may tear out or otherwisework loose.-. v v.

Furthermore, the wire staples often times have a tendency to buckle orbend during the process. of being driven into the stackof sheets;additionally, sometimes the wire staples are improperly. bent orclinched on the underside of the stack. When either of these occur, theimproperly inserted staple must be removed and the process repeateduntil a properly driven and clinched staple is obtained. This results inunnecessary operator time in the binding operation. Y

Where the number of pages are too great forstapling, stitching may beresorted to, however stitching requires relatively complex and.expensive machinery which is normally found in a book binding facility,and not in the typical business office. Additionally, the editing of abonded assembly produced by stitching is quite impractical due to themutilation of the sheets that is likely to occur. In this lattercase-metal clip orclamp assemblies may beresorted to. However,theserequire some type of punching or drilling toprovide holes, in thepaper for the clip prongs, which if-not performed accurately insofar asthe hole formation is concerned, may result in mutilation of the sheets.

It has been proposed to use a binding member comprising a substratematerial having an adhesive strip contained thereon to obtainthebook-like assembly. However, the members heretofore available havesuffered from many shortcomings, which have limited their utility. Forexample, essentially all the binding members heretofore commerciallyavailable have had a single thickness of adhesive of either low tackmaterial or a high tack material applied to a substrate material. Forinstance, it has been the practice to provide a uniformly thick low tackadhesive coating on a substrate material. If the adhesive coating isapplied thinly, generally an insufficient amount of adhesive material isprovided between the edges of the sheets to be bound. Within relativelyshort periods of time, individual sheets would work loose from theremaining sheets of the assembly.

Alternatively, if a relatively thick low tack (i.e., relatively lowviscosity) adhesive coating is on the substrate material, very often thematerial flows beyond the limits defined by the substrate material,particularly when the substrate material and low tack adhesive arebrought into contact with the outer sheets of the stack. Furthermore, ithas proven necessary to permit a heating element, used to melt the lowtack adhesive and apply pressure thereto so as to unite the substratematerial to the outer sheets of the stack, to cool the ambienttemperature prior to disengagement from the binding member. If this werenot permitted, an unsatisfactory bond is obtained sinc the low tackadhesive must be permitted to solidify before a satisfactory bond isprovided. Naturally, the cooling of the heating element, prior todisengagement, limits the production rate of bonded assemblies.

If a high tack (i.e., relatively high viscosity) adhesive coating wereapplied to the surface of the substrate material, insufficient flow ofthe adhesive between the sheets would occur due to the high viscosity ofthe high tack adhesive. Thus, individual sheets would readily separatefrom the assembly.

A further limitation in the utility of the binding members heretoforeavailable has resulted from the apparatus presently on the commercialmarket. Binding members employed in such machines must be cut to theappropriate size depending upon the thickness of the stack of sheetsbeing bound. The separate cutting operation required for each bindingstrip, particularly when the thickness of the stack might vary only arelatively small amount from one stack to the next, has limited theproduction rate of bound assemblies. Additionally, the separate cuttingstation required has increased either the cost of the binding apparatusor the labor cost involved in obtaining the bound assembly.

Once the binding member of prior art devices have been cut to size theyare manually inserted into apparatus for effecting intimate contactbetween the binding strip and the edges of the pages to be bound intobook form. While it is possible to limit the amount of cutting that hasto be done by the operator by having the binding members supplied indifferent lengths and widths there is still a considerable amount oftime involved in manually inserting the binding members. Also, theprovision of binder members cut to size presents problems of stockinventory, handling and packaging and also adds to the cost of theindividual binder member.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is:the' principal'objectof thepresent invention to provide an improved apparatus for binding aquantity of sheets together in a-book-like form.

It is another object of the invention to provide apparatus for binding aquantity of sheets together by means of a binding member wherein thebinding member is automatically metered to length in accordance with thelength of the pages to be bound and automatically inserted into thebinding apparatus from a cartridge containing a supply of bindingmaterials sufficient to provide binding members for the binding of aplurality of book-like members.

7 Still another object of the present invention is to provide apparatusfor automatically feeding strips of binding material which vary inlength depending upon the length of the pages to be bound withsubsequent cutting of the binding material from a cartridge.

The above-cited objects are accomplished in the present invention by theprovision of an automatic binding machine or apparatus having a feedmechanism for metering and cutting lengths of binding material, a supplyof binding material, the length depending upon the length of the pagesto be bound, and inserting the cut binding member into the apparatuswith subsequent affixing of the binding member to the edges of the pagesto be bound together.

The supply of binding material is contained in one of a plurality ofcartridges depending upon the particular width thereof. The cartridgesare adapted to be selectively mounted on the main frame of the bindingapparatus in accordance with the thickness of the pages to be bound.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of abookbinding apparatus. representing theinvention and including acartridge containing binding strip material;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of an end view of mechanism foraffixing a strip of binding material to the ends of a plurality of pageswhich mechanism forms a part of the apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end elevational view of a binding strip for use in theapparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the cartridge illustrated in FIG. 1together witha side elevational view of a binder strip feed mechanism;

FIG. 5 is a rear elevational view of the binder strip feed mechanismdisclosed in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view of a pusher mechanism forming a partof the binder strip feed mechanism disclosed in FIGS. 4 and 5;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the pusher mechanism illustrated inFIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a partial top plan view of a pusher mechanism illustrated inFIGS. 6 and 7;

FIG. 9 is a front elevational view of a cutter mechanism forming a partof the invention; and

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line XX of FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring to the drawings,particularly FIG. 1, reference character 10 designates an automatic bookbinding apparatus comprising a housing structure 12 having a cartridge14 removably supported thereby. The cartridge 14 contains strip material16, a predetermined length of which is adapted to be fed into thehousing structure 12 wherein the predetermined length is affixed to theends of a plurality of pages for forming a book. The mechanism andmethod of accomplishing such feeding of the binding strip material willbe described in detail hereinafter.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates bookbinding mechanism generallyindicated by reference character 18 which mechanism is substantiallycontained internally of the housing structure 12. The bookbindingmechanism, as will be appreciated, is adapted to affix the binding stripmaterial of a predetermined length to the ends of the pages. 1

The mechanism 18 comprises page guides 20 for containing a plurality ofpages 22 which are to be bound into a book. As can be seen in FIG. 1,the page guides 22 extend through an elongated opening 24 in a top wall26 of the housing structure 12.

The mechanism 18 further comprises a plurality of page clamps 28 whichserve in a manner to be more fully described hereinafter, to clamp thepages 22 and to plunge or move the pages both downwardly and up- 3-wardly in accordance with the particular part of the cycle of operationof the binding apparatus.

The binding strip material, as disclosed in FIG. 3, comprises a formablebacking or substrate material 30, normally comprised of relatively heavypaper stock bearing adhesive coatings 32 and 34. It should be understoodthat other substrate materials, for example fabrics, may be employed inlieu of paper.

The adhesive coatings 32 and 34 constitute a plurality of strip-likeformations comprising two heat activated adhesive types or a combinationof heat activated and pressure sensitive adhesives. Heat activatedadhesives may be either low or high tack types. A low tack adhesivecomprises an adhesive material which when heated becomes fairly moltenor fluid thereby providing a high degree of surface wet-out with minimumapplication of pressure or heat. A high tack adhesive comprises anadhesive material which when heated remains highly viscous and somewhatimmobile so a definite amount of application of pressure and/or heat isnecessary to wet-out the surface being adhered. High tack adhesives, inthe heat activated case, have the advantage that on application of heatand pressure, the bond immediately possesses a high degree of strength.On the other hand, the low tack adhesives, in the heat activated case,have the advantage that on application of heat and pressure the adhesiveflows readily or is wicked into the edges of the pages to be bound.

The strip material 16 preferably has the high tack adhesive uniformlyapplied to the backing or substrate material 30 which the low tackadhesive 34 is applied along the center point of the substrate materialand at a relatively greater thickness than that of the high tackmaterial 32. Typically, the width of the adhesive 34 is approximatelyequal to or slightly greater than the overall thickness of the bookbeing formed.

The relatively thick adhesive stripe 34 has a thickness on the order of0.015 to 0.020 inches, for example, while the relatively thin high tackmaterial, by way of example, is on the order of 0.00l to 0.005 inches.

With one adhesive formulation, the adhesive which comprises the stripe34, has an activation temperature in the range of 350-450 F. while theadhesive which comprises the thin low tack adhesive 32 has an activationtemperature in the range of 250350F. It is understood that othersuitable adhesive formulations may have different reactive temperatureranges. For a more detailed description of the strip material 16,reference may be had to copending application, Ser. No. 196,446, filedin the name ofDonald W. Watson and assigned to the assignee of theinstant application.

The mechanism 18 further comprises a pair of heated side platens 36adapted for horizontal movement and a heated bottom platen 38 is adaptedfor movement in a vertical direction, as viewed in FIG. 2. The heatedplatens are provided for use in applying pressure to the binding stripmaterial in accordance with the cycle of operation of the apparatus, aswill be described hereinbelow. A book stop in the form of a retractableplate member 40 adapted to be moved to the right, as viewed in FIG. 2,serves to support the pages to be bound during an initial part of thebinding process.

Although the heating elements of the platen members 36 and 38 are notshown, they may comprise suitable resistance elements connected througha switch to a source of electrical power and controlled in accordancewith a predetermined cycle of operation. Appropriate temperatureregulating devices, for example, positive temperature coefficientresistance elements or negative temperature coefficient elements may beoperatively connected to the heating elements or integrally form a partthereof to obtain a desired predetermined temperature for each one ofthe platen members.

Channel-shaped strip guides 42 and 44 are supported between the platens36 and the retractable plate 40 for properly positioning the bindingstrip material with respect to the various components of the apparatus.The channel-shaped strip guides are adapted for movement in a horizontaldirection along with movement of the paper guides and clamps and 28.

In operation of the apparatus 10, once a power onoff switch 45 has beenactuated to effect Warming of the platens to the proper bindingtemperature as indicated by an indicator light 47, the pages 22 to bebound are placed between the page guides 20 (FIG. 2) and moved to theextreme left end of the elongated slot or opening 24. In this position,the pages rest on the plate 40 and are ready for calipering throughclockwise rotation as viewed from the right in FIG. 1 of a caliperingknob 46. Such rotation of knob 46, a predetermined amount, dependingupon the thickness of the book to be bound effects movement of the pageguides 20, clamps 28 and channel-shaped guides 42 and 44 toward thepages. Suitable linkages (not shown) and a cam 45 operatively connectedto the knob 46 are provided for such purposes. Movement of the caliperknob in the reverse direction in the predetermined amount effectsreverse movement of the guides 42 and 44 to thereby position them forreceiving the binder strip ma terial 16.

After calipering the operator moves the pages to the extreme right ofthe slot or opening 24 which corresponds to the index position. Anindicator light 48 will light when the pages are moved to the right,only if proper cassette or cartridge has been installed. Suitable switchinterlocks (not shown) Cooperate with the caliper knob 46 and thecassette or cartridge to effect il- A bind button 50 serves to initiatethe automatic portion of the binding cycle. Once this button has beenpressed, a main drive motor (not shown) is energized for impartingrotating movement to the main drive shaft of the apparatus. Suitablecams 51 (only one shown) carried by the main drive shaft effect movementof suitable linkages resulting in clamping of the pages by the clamps28. To this end, the page guides 20 are provided with suitable openings52 through which the clamps 28 can move. The main drive motor isdeenergized in order that an automatic strip inserter, to be described,can insert a binder strip into the channelshaped guides 42 and 44.

Upon re-energization of the main motor, the cams and associated linkageseffect lifting of the pages from the plate member 40 such that the platecan be retracted from its page holding position to a position where thepages can be plunged or moved in the direction of the heated platens 36.Simultaneously with the retraction of the plate member 40 and thelifting of the pages and subsequent movement thereof toward the sideseals or platens, the side platens are moved toward each other untilthey contact. The cams are coordinated to bring the pages to the sideplatens before the side platens contact each other. The foregoingprevents opening of page guides due to the backlash that would resultfrom the side platens touching before the pages and binder stripmaterial contact the top surfaces of the side platens which could be :aproblem when binding small books. The strip remains in contact with thetop surfaces of the side platens for a period of time sufficient toeffect preheating thereof.

After preheating of the strip, the cams effect lifting of the pagesalong with opening of the side platens. The pages together with thebinder strip are then moved downwardly into contact with the bottomplaten 38 after which the side platens 36 close for a period of timesufficient to soften the high tack adhesive 32. After the high tackadhesive has been softened, the side platens are partially opened.Cooking of the low tack adhesive continues for a predetermined period oftime while the main motor is stopped.

The main motor is again energized whereupon the side platens are fullyopened. The book, including the pages 22 and the affixed binder strip,is lifted to a posi tion slightly above the plate member 40. The platemember 40 is then returned to its book supporting position and the bookis moved downwardly until it rests on the plate 40. The clamps are:retracted from engagement with the book and the main motor de-energizes.The book can now be removed from the binding apparatus.

. The mechanism for inserting the binding strip material into thechannel-shaped guide members 42 and 44 will now be described withreference to FIGS. 4 through 9.

As disclosed in FIG. 4, the cartridge 14 containing the binding stripmaterial 16, is removably mounted to the housing structure 12 by meansof a rod 60 and a spring clip 62 attached to the housing structure 28.To this end, the rod 60 and spring clip 62 cooperate with pairs of lipportions 64 and 66 of the cartridge 14. As can be seen from aconsideration of FIG. 4, the cartridge 14 is mounted such that the upperportion thereof is directly in line with the nip 68 formed by an upperfeed roller 70 and a lower feed roller 72 such that the leading edge ofthe binding strip material 16 can be conveniently threaded into the nip68. Moreover, the foregoing orientation of the cartridge allows foroptimun feeding of the binding strip material from the cartridge.

In order to facilitate the threading of the binding strip material, theupper feed roller 70 is mounted such that it can be temporarily movedout of engagement with the lower feed roller 72. To this end, the upperfeed roller is carried by a support member 74 pivotably secured by meansof a pin member 76 carried by a mounting bracket (not shown) forming anintegral part of the housing structure 12. A lever arm 80 extendingoutwardly from the housing structure 12 through an opening 82 serves tolift the upper roller 70 out of its engagement with the lower roller 72through movement thereof in an upward direction, suitable biasing means,not shown, being provided for returning the upper feed roller to its nipforming position with the lower feed roller.

In FIG. 5, there are disclosed additional parts of the automatic stripmaterial feeding device, among which are a strip feed motor 80 and agear box 86, the latter of which houses suitable gears for accomplishingthe desired speedreduction and control of an output shaft 88 from thegear box 86. A driving lever 90 is carried approximate the end of theshaft 88 such that it can engage a detent member 92 carried by a drivegear 94. The gear 94 serves to drive a driven gear 96 supported by shaft98 which also supports the lower feed roller 72. It can be seen from theforegoing that when the output shaft 88 rotates the lower feed roll 72also rotates to thereby feed strip material.

In accordance with the objects of the present invention, it is desiredto feed or meter different lengths of strip material 16 depending on thelength of pages 22 which are to be bound into a book. Accordingly,adjustable feed is accomplished by the provision of a metering mechanismincluding a metering wheel in the form of a thumb actuatable wheel 100which protrudes through one side wall of the housing structure 12(FIG. 1) to permit setting thereof in accordance with indicia (notshown) on its periphery which is aligned with an index mark 102 on theaforementioned side wall.

The metering wheel carries a stop member 104 on one face thereof (i.e.,to the left as viewed in FIG. which stop serves as a fixed abutmentengagable by a sidewardly projecting pin member 106 carried by the drivegear 94. For this purpose, means, not shown, are provided to prevent themetering wheel from rotating in the counterclockwise direction, asviewed from the right in FIG. 5, once the wheel has beenmanually set inaccordance with the desired length of binding strip material to bemetered. Engagement of the stop member 104 by the sidewardly projectingpin member will cause the driving lever 90 to move the detent memberagainst the bias of a washer 108 which allows the driving lever to movepast the detent to thereby effect disconnection of the driving couplingtherebetween to terminate rotation of the lower feed roller 72, which,as will be appreciated, terminates the feed of the binding stripmaterial 16 1 1 During feedingof the binding strip material 16, a springmember 110 is tensioned through clockwise rotation, as viewed from theright in FIG. 5, of the shaft 98. Once the feeding has stopped and thestrip material has been cut (to be discussed later) the spring functionsto reposition the sidewardly extending pin member 106 to itsstart-of-feed position through rotation of the gears and 94. The lowerfeed wheel roller may be provided with a one'way clutch or othersuitable means, not shown, to effectively uncouple the lower feed rollerfrom theshaft 98 during such repositioning. It will be appreciated thatthe relative angular distance between the pin member 106 and the stopmember 104 determines the length of strip material that is fed duringone cycle of operation. It will also be appreciated that the length ofthe strip material fed can be varied by changing the aforementioned arcangular distance length which is accomplished by setting of the meteringwheel.

A cam arm 1 12 carried by the drive shaft 88 actuates a cutter mechanism(FIGS. 4, 9 and 10) once each cycle of operation of the strip insertermechanism in order to cut the predetermined or metered length of bindingstrip material 16. As best illustrated in FIG. 9, the cutter mechanism114 comprises an upper knife 116 in the form of an inclined guillotineand a lower knife 118.

Attached to the upper knife 1 16 for movement therewith is a striphold-down member 117 which cooperates with the channels 42 and 44therebelow to move the trailing edge of a binding strip member 122 intoa position suitable for engagement with a pusher mechanism 124. Thepusher mechanism, in a manner to be described hereinbelow, serves tomove the binding strip member 122 into its final position in thechannelshaped guides 42 and 44.

The pusher mechanism 124, as viewed in FIGS. 4 and 6 through 8,comprises an art 125 pivotably mounted as indicated at 126 such that afinger 128 thereof is adapted to engage the trailing edge of the bindingstrip member 122. A crank arm'l30 attached to the pivotably mounted arm125, at an end thereof remote from the finger 128 serves to impartpivotal movement to the arm 125 when acted upon by a cable 132 attachedvia a spring 134 toa cam follower 136 (FIG. 6). The cam follower 136 isactuated by means of a cam 138 carried by the main drive shaft of theapparatus. Rotation of the cam 138 and, therefore, actuation of the camfollower 136, is synchronized with the cycle of operation of the bindingapparatus and the strip inserter such that the binder strip member 122is acted upon by the pusher mechanism only after it has been metered andcut to the length.

While there has been shown and described a preferred embodiment of theinvention, it will be appreciated that various modifications thereto maybe made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof,consequently, it is intended that such modifications be covered by theclaims appended hereto.

What is claimed is: 1. Apparatus for providing a metered length ofbinding strip; from a supply roll of binding strip, to a mechanism forfixing the metered length of binding strip to an edge of a plurality ofpages to be formed into a book, comprising:

a first feed roller rotatably coupled to the mechanism; I v

a second feed roller rotatably coupled to the mechanism, the bindingstrip being engageable with a nip provided by the rollers;

a drive gear, rotatably coupled to the mechanism,

having biased detent means and a pin member;

a driven gear for coupling the drive gear to the first feed roller;

a manually adjustable metering wheel having a stop member, the stopmember being located for engagement with the pin member;

a motor; and

means coupled to the motor for releasably engaging the detent means andsynchronously moving the drive gear from a start of feed position toanother position determined by the engagement of the pin and stopmembers, whereby if the binding strip is engaged with the rollers ametered binding strip is provided.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means for engaging thedetent includes a driving arm are rotatably mounted on the shaft.

1. Apparatus for providing a metered length of binding strip, from asupply roll of binding strip, to a mechanism for fixing the meteredlength of binding strip to an edge of a plurality of pages to be formedinto a book, compRising: a first feed roller rotatably coupled to themechanism; a second feed roller rotatably coupled to the mechanism, thebinding strip being engageable with a nip provided by the rollers; adrive gear, rotatably coupled to the mechanism, having biased detentmeans and a pin member; a driven gear for coupling the drive gear to thefirst feed roller; a manually adjustable metering wheel having a stopmember, the stop member being located for engagement with the pinmember; a motor; and means coupled to the motor for releasably engagingthe detent means and synchronously moving the drive gear from a start offeed position to another position determined by the engagement of thepin and stop members, whereby if the binding strip is engaged with therollers a metered binding strip is provided.
 2. Apparatus according toclaim 1 wherein said means for engaging the detent includes a drivingarm coupled to said motor, said driving arm being moved past said detentby the motor when said pin member engages said stop member.
 3. Apparatusaccording to claim 2 including means for returning said detent to saidstart-of-feed position.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 3 includingmeans for disengaging said feed rollers for allowing threading of theleading edge of said binding strip between the rollers.
 5. Apparatusaccording to claim 2 wherein said driving arm is coupled to the motor bya rotatably mounted shaft and wherein the drive gear and metering wheelare rotatably mounted on the shaft.